The Honorable Rex W. Tillerson, Secretary of State of the United States of America

Dear Secretary Tillerson,

As organizations that provide and advocate for life-saving assistance in Yemen, we write to urge your continued efforts to seek a permanent end to the Saudi-led coalition’s restrictions on humanitarian and commercial access to Yemen’s ports, particularly Hodeidah and Saleef. Furthermore, we urge you to redouble your efforts to mobilize political will and realize a political settlement to Yemen’s deadly conflict.

Washington, D.C. – Today, the leaders of 21 leading organizations involved in international humanitarian response sent a letter to the Trump Administration objecting “in the strongest terms” to the U.S. decision to withhold $65 million in planned U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Seventeen aid agencies working in Yemen are urging for the complete and unconditional opening of Hudaydah port to allow for the uninterrupted flow of food and fuel. A thirty-day concession period enabling the delivery of commercial supplies has brought only brief reprieve within the context of a sustained blockade on Yemen’s Red Sea Ports. Parties to Yemen’s conflict have a responsibility to minimise the impact of war on civilians in Yemen by mitigating all factors that exacerbate death and suffering, as over 8 million people are already on the verge of starvation.

While the Ebola crisis was at its peak, a small group of WASH entrepreneurs helped in a significant way by repairing hand pumps in clinics and other health facilities in some of the country’s hardest-hit counties. By restoring access to water — not only for drinking, but also for infection prevention and control — these WASH entrepreneurs ensured that facilities had the resources they needed to promote hand washing and safe hygiene practices that could help combat the spread of the disease.

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, striking the Caribbean island with devastating levels of rain and winds up to 155 miles per hour. Other islands throughout the Caribbean have been hit repeatedly by enormously destructive hurricanes this season, causing homelessness, loss of power, sanitation problems and many other challenges for families throughout the region.

In the wake of Kenya’s contested 2007 election, ethnic violence ripped through the country, killing over 1,000 and displacing as many as 600,000. Now Kenya is gripped by another disputed election, as the Supreme Court has annulled the recent Presidential election due to voting irregularities, with a new vote scheduled for October 17. And yet, while tensions remain high and some incidents of violence have occurred, it is nowhere near the levels seen in 2007. What has changed that has prolonged peace and stability in the intervening years?

The sudden influx of Syrian refugees put significant pressure on the already strained health services in Wasatyeh. As the health care service providers struggled to serve a 20% increase in population, the quality of services deteriorated and tensions in the community rose. Poorly equipped health centers started referring patients to the regional hospital, but those who could afford the transportation costs faced long waiting periods.

The USDA-funded Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) program, implemented by Global Communities (GC) since September 2014 in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, facilitates agribusinesses to access markets and finance as a way of bolstering domestic, regional and international trade of agricultural products. In Malawi, the program targets grains, livestock and horticulture value chains.

The USAID Promoting Resiliency through Ongoing Participatory Engagement and Learning (PROPEL) program, implemented by Global Communities and Catholic Relief Services, is bringing together communities and strengthening their capacity to drive their own development through harnessing their own resources and supporting the implemention projects that address priority needs.

This statement is made on behalf of Save the Children and 16 NGOs, comprised of national, regional and international human rights and humanitarian civil society actors, including organizations that provide humanitarian assistance and support to vulnerable children and families in Yemen.

We are concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen as highlighted in the High Commissioner’s oral update on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 33/16 of October 2016.2

“No more crying on the trail,” says Ayishetu Bukari. She is a small, older woman, wearing a bright yellow veil, with many years etched on her face. She gathers with the other women and men of her community under the shade of a neem tree. The community, Daboya No.2, is a mid-size village of 1,100 people living in 75 houses, located in the rural West Mamprusi District of Northern Ghana on the banks of the Nasia River, a tributary of the White Volta.

When Cholera strikes, it is devastating. It moves quickly, infecting people who unknowingly pass it on to others. High-density communities around city centers are often the hardest hit by an outbreak, and efforts to contain the disease become a race against time. Since the early 1970s, Ghana has reported intermittent Cholera outbreaks, with significant epidemics in the recent past. In 2014, 60 percent of Ghana’s districts reported Cholera infections and in 2014 and 2015 combined, nearly 30,000 new cases and over 250 deaths were reported.

The Shelter and NFIs Cluster, led by UNHCR and co-led by Global Communities, coordinates the efforts of 45 member organizations. The Cluster addresses emergency Shelter and NFI needs and promotes household and community resilience. The Cluster supports people in need within displaced, hosting and non-displaced populations by ensuring that the different modalities of interventions (in-kind, non-conditional/conditional cash or voucher) abide by the do-not-harm principle.

Global Communities has been working in Yemen since 2004 implementing humanitarian and development programs across a broad range of sectors and has continued to provide on-the-ground assistance throughout the current conflict.

The Shelter and NFIs Cluster, led by UNHCR and co-led by Global Communities, coordinates the efforts of 45 member organizations. The Cluster addresses emergency Shelter and NFI needs and promotes household and community resilience. The Cluster supports people in need within displaced, hosting and non-displaced populations by ensuring that the different modalities of interventions (in-kind, non-conditional/conditional cash or voucher) abide by the do-not-harm principle.